The future of Channel Nine Darwin is in doubt following mass sackings

Channel Nine has revealed the reason for axing almost all its Darwin staff and local bulletin. Find out what this means for Territory viewers.

Nine News Darwin’s Mitchell Street office. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

The future of Channel Nine Darwin is in doubt today following mass sackings, with the station revealing why it made the “difficult yet necessary” decision.

It is understood staff in the Darwin newsroom were told Wednesday morning leaving them shell-shocked.

The NT News has been told that just one reporter and a cameraman will remain and Darwin will no longer have its own local bulletin, but instead Darwin will now receive the Queensland nightly bulletin.

“This effectively means Darwin is nothing more than two-man bureau,” a source close to the station said.

“It is a terrible day for Darwin.”

Staff at Nine News Darwin have been sacked. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

The sackings come despite previous assurances by Channel Nine that Darwin’s local news service was safe and would remain.

A Channel 9 spokesperson said through redeployment opportunities and current vacancies, Nine has significantly reduced the number of people impacted by the decision.

The spokesperson said only one Darwin local could not be accommodated with a position.

“We are supporting those employees through this process,” the spokesperson said.

Territorians will now receive the Queensland bulletin seven nights a week, which previously aired in the NT on weekends.

The Nine spokesman said the company had made the regional TV News changes to its team as part its “strategic transformation program”.

“These difficult yet necessary decisions ensure Nine is able to withstand external challenges, while maintaining a commitment to the Northern Territory,” he said.

“In Darwin we will retain a reporter and camera operator on the ground to tell the Territory’s stories to a national audience.”

Concerns about Channel Nine’s future first surfaced when the nightly local bulletin read was delivered from Brisbane.

The station was also caught up in recent controversy with the sudden exit of its executive producer David Richardson after a complaint following an end of year staff Christmas party.

Talk of cost cutting have been circulating for sometime, but nothing on the scale of today.

Originally published as The future of Channel Nine Darwin is in doubt following mass sackings